Santonio Holmes impresses in Bears’ exhibition finale

Posted by Mike Wilkening on August 28, 2014, 9:16 PM EST

AP

In the span of a little less than 10 minutes in Thursday night’s exhibition at Cleveland, new Bears wide receiver Santonio Holmes made a pair of plays that suggest he’s got some good football left to play.

First, the 30-year-old Holmes turned a short reception into a 32-yard touchdown when Browns rookie cornerback Justin Gilbert took a bad angle. Then, minutes later, Holmes broke a 30-yard punt return, running through two tackle attempts, keeping his balance and finding plenty of open space toward the Browns’ sideline. The return set up a Chicago field goal.

Off the field, Holmes did something notable, too. According to Bears sideline reporter Lou Canellis, Holmes gave the ball from his first Bears TD to rookie quarterback David Fales, who threw the pass. It was Fales’ first scoring throw as a pro, and Holmes wanted him to have the ball as a keepsake, Canellis said on the Bears’ telecast of the game.

In all, it was a good stretch for Holmes, who’s trying to find a role with the Bears after being released by the Jets earlier in the offseason.

Holmes looked good but the rest of the team didn’t look good against a bad team. That Division 2 Bears D is gonna cost then a lot of games thus year. But when you hire a career loser as your DC you get what you get.

Fales looked good in the 1st half, not so great in the 2nd. He’s got a good head on his shoulders and throws a nice, accurate ball but if he gets flushed out of the pocket it’s over. He’s small and can’t run at all.